#100things

1. My name is Giannecarla but prefer to be called Carla because…

2. I share a variation of the name "Gianne" with 4 other people. Specifically my sisters.

3. My name was derived from "Juan Carlo" because…

4. My parents were expecting a boy but 'lo and behold, a girl came out! Thus -- Giannecarla.

5. I love my crazy, "rarely functioning" family to bits because…

6. No matter what happens, I love them and I am immensely proud of them. (Despite me calling them crazy and rarely functioning)

7. My YouTube algorithm does not have an apparent theme because…

8. Things that catches my attention ranges from music, photography, arts, new/old tech, architecture, engineering, ancient history, travel and of course, food!

9. I surround myself with a ton of music. Because…

10. I grew up in a family that absolutely loves music. I remember listening old records, karaoke weekends (the old school one with the cassette tapes and lyric books). Jamming sessions with my dad sing while my mom plays the guitar thus…

11. Me loving to sing (although not in tune a ton of time) and I strived to learn how to play the guitar when I was in sixth grade and have been playing ever since. Also,

12. I play a little bit of ukulele and at 34, (Yes! That's my age), I'm teaching myself how to play the piano. (Thank you, Internet and YouTube)

13. I love taking photos as a hobby that I picked up in 2007. Photos are usually of still life and landscapes because…

14. Despite my seemingly outgoing personality, I'm really shy and prefer to be behind the camera.

15. I've been chasing sunsets and sunrises since I was a kid because…

16. My dad loves doing the same thing and I have memories of him taking me and my sisters for quick sunset/sunrise drives.

17. I learned how to drive when I was 17 and drove for the first time on my own when I was 18.

18. I love long drives and the farthest that I have driven is Ilocos Norte which is about 12 hours away from Manila.

19. One of my favorite places in the world is Baguio because…

20. I have a ton of memories there. When we were kids we would spend our summers there. Even when I was older, vacations were spent there with family and friends and I keep going back everytime I can.

21. Every birthday, I celebrate by going somewhere I've never been and on my 30th birthday…

22. I traveled on my own FOR THE FIRST TIME and I went to Bantayan Island and Cebu City.

23. I loved Coron, Palawan too and going back to Club Paradise is definitely on my list. (COVID, COVID go away!)

24. I love keeping organized because I collect a few things which includes…

25. Starbucks Tumblers of places I went to. (Most memorable was the Cebu tumbler, ask me about it!)

Get a driver’s license

Do a jellyfish painting

Complete one song on the venova

Get my veneers

Go on 4 dates

Get spine alignment

Get my PR

Visit naples 

Learn a new song on the piano

Earn 3 mos e-savings

Visit a vineyard in Italy

Make azulejo tiles in Porto

Stay at La Mamounia Morroco

Stay at the Wine Barrel Hotel (Douro)

Stay at Chedi Andermatt Switzerland

Go skiing

Visit Belgium (Villers la ville)

Visit Naples

Go to obgyn for check-up so I can lower my life insurance premium

Sell Aurora Escalades House

Sell Magnolia Residences House

Go to New Zealand on the heli-hike on the glacier

Finish watching all Harry Potter films

Finish watching all 100 movies to watch in my poster.

Get poster framed 

Go get my ears checked. 

Study iOS programming

Get a bike

Go cycling at Pulau Ubin

Get a nose job

I am the cloud of your coffee

Whisking away displacing all of all

Shrouded uncertainty

Complexities too difficult to translate.

I am the steam risen from your body

Evaporating, disappearing to where?

Your fingertips trace the water drops

As my lips traced your neck

The loose tendrils of your hair

Like a feather

Playful as children

Curiosity of the unknown.

I am the fog of your breath

On cool mornings

Ice crystallized dew drops

A shiver chills your body

The memory of my touch

A lover kept in secret.

I am the dreamer

And you the dream;

The archer and you the arrow

Sailing into an impenetrable path.

Oh let me hold you

So I may say the words

Over again, and again

So that you know

I love you. Now and forever.

Based on the book “100 things every designer needs to know about people” written by Susan M. Weinschenk, there are some basic points that as designers we must know. This book talks about how do people see, read, think, decide, feel or remember. This topic is relevant to me, thus I have found the same problems in different websites and as a designer, I feel we can counter that. It is important to understand human behavior and be more empathic with users to avoid repeating the same mistakes.

Despite all the information we learned when we were at University about the use of color, the accurate font size, or the rule of thirds, designers still doing some assumptions when creating a new website and repeating mistakes such as complex content, complex flows, and inappropriate error messages.

First of all, it is prevalent to find a complex context on websites. Due to the inappropriate use of language and terms. Users find difficult to understand the information or the terms. For this reason, I consider it is important to have a specialist or writer who can help us to be more accurate with the text or the terms we choose. Another way is Flesh-Kincaid, an online tool that can help us to calculate the reading level of our texts, in this way if it is shown that our text is complex, we can work on that. We need to make sure our readers are understanding the meaning behind the words, and not just reading. Also, it is important to not overwhelm the readers with all the information at the same time or give them multitasks. The book called this term “Progressive disclosure” which means providing only the information people need at the moment. Additionally, we need to consider that everyone has their mental model depending on their past experiences, which leads to having a mismatch between the product and the people´s mental model. Therefore it is important not to do assumptions. As well as try to create a website that interacts with the user, just as it does in person, using basic guidelines, and predicts different scenarios, to avoid the complexity of it. 

Secondly, abstain from complex flows. Designers tend to trust too much on eye-tracking tools to make sure the users are watching whatever they want them to watch, but this tool is not 100 percent accurate. Designers might assume that users have wandering minds, and it is important to give them signals of how to use or navigate within a website. These cues are called affordances. 

Finally, error messages sometimes are so abstract and helpless to the user. Thus, these messages usually just say “Error”, instead of providing a better explanation of what the problem is, and guiding the user of what to do using uncomplicated language. However, it would be better, if designers focus on the likely mistakes and test the product with similar targets to predict errors as well as work with different strategies. Thus people use different paths to solve their errors based on their personal past experiences. Moreover, give them the freedom to undo things easily, in the same vein, this will prevent a user to get an error message.

German Film Festival Review: 100 Dinge

What we really need is a sweater and an apple. “100 Dinge” (“100 Things”) tackle the issue facing millennials today: Do we really need all the stuff that we buy online?

Paul Konaske and Toni Katz are best friends who essentially grew up together. In a struck of luck, they sold the app they developed (Paul called it “NANA,” a Siri-like invention which creepily knows all that you want to buy)…